Newcastle United are set to have four players competing at Euro 2024 this summer.
The competition kicks off in Germany on Friday night, with four of Eddie Howe’s players due to take part in the tournament.
Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier are in the England squad, while Fabian Schar and Martin Dubravka will represent Switzerland and Slovakia respectively. In truth, there probably would have been five Newcastle United players involved, had it not been for Italy international Sandro Tonali’s ban.
Toon fans will be paying most attention to Gordon and Trippier, as they aim to bring football home for the Three Lions. To do so, they will need to go one better than their last Euros appearance, where they lost in the final to Italy on penalties.
Mehrdad Ghodoussi issues message as Kieran Trippier prepares for the Euros
Trippier was involved that night at Wembley, getting the assist that allowed Luke Shaw to give England the lead.
Three years on and Trippier is in the squad again, and is excited to be part of Gareth Southgate’s side.
Ahead of England’s first game on Sunday evening, the 33-year-old took to his official Instagram account to deliver a message about what he hopes will be a special few weeks over in Germany.
Alongside some photos of him in an England shirt, Trippier wrote: “Can’t wait for the euros to start for us on Sunday. It’s always a dream come true to be part of a camp like this. I know we will all do the nation proud over the coming weeks.”
Trippier’s message received a reply from Toon co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi.
He commented: “Good luck.”
Kieran Trippier has two very important roles for England at Euro 2024
Everyone associated with Newcastle United is behind Trippier, who could have a key role to play for England.
The first reason why is because he is probably going to have to play out of position.
While he is predominantly a right-back, it looks like Southgate will ask him to play on the opposite side of the pitch. Trippier played at left-back during England’s two warm-up games, and will likely start there against Serbia on Sunday with Luke Shaw still not ready to return.
Trippier is going to have an important role on the pitch, but he could be just as pivotal off it.
That is because the Telegraph report that he is going to be part of England’s unofficial leadership group, alongside Harry Kane, Kyle Walker and Declan Rice.
That is a great honour for Trippier, who is in contention to captain England if Kane is not on the pitch.
Trippier is being given a great amount of responsibility, but it is nothing new. He has a similar role at St James’ Park, establishing himself as a leader on Tyneside ever since his 2022 arrival from Atletico Madrid.
Now those leadership skills are going to be required on the international stage, as Southgate leans on Trippier’s experience as he attempts to guide England to Euro 2024 glory.
Trippier’s Newcastle future is unclear
While Trippier’s main focus is the Euros and England, his Newcastle United future remains up in the air.
He is heading into the final year of his Toon contract, which means that a decision needs to be made. The club either need to give him an extension, or move him on this summer.
And this comes at a time when Newcastle are under pressure to sell ahead of June 30th, as they aim to stay the right side of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.
Given his age and contract situation, there is a chance that Trippier could go, but that might be difficult to manufacture this month due to his involvement at the Euros.
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